


The Dying Of The Innocence

by orphan_account



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-19 23:51:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1488769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valkyrie Cain has been battling with her defiant side for as long as she can remember, but there was one man that she has always obeyed - Skulduggery Pleasant. But when his dark past is revealed, the friction between them causes Valkyrie's flame of disobedience to spark into an inferno of resistance. </p>
<p>However, Skulduggery has never been a patient man, and is forced to take measures to train Valkyrie into being the perfect submissive... </p>
<p>BDSM kink, Smut, etc.</p>
<p>Also, Tanith is a remnant who likes to use Ghastly as her little plaything...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dying Of The Innocence

Things were different as far as Valkyrie could see…with Tanith gone, Skulduggery not being the hero she once thought he was, and with the hostility in the sanctuary, nothing seemed to be at peace. Things were ever shifting – her relationship with Skulduggery had changed from comfortable to impossibly awkward, the struggle for power in the Irish Sanctuary was ongoing, and she didn’t know how to feel about Tanith. She couldn’t help but see her friend still, behind those icy blue eyes whenever she had the misfortune of encountering them. 

It wasn’t fair, Valkyrie missed the old days…the days where the whole gang came together to fight crime, have a laugh, and go home safely at the end of each day. But she knew better than anyone that happiness never lasted for long in the world of magic. 

Her quiet moment was interrupted by the growl of the Bentley’s engine, as it pulled up to the pier. She sighed inwardly, and mentally prepared herself for another tension-filled car ride with Skulduggery…those were becoming more frequent than she’d liked. She stood up from her place on the giant rock over looking the beach, and walked towards the car, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the bright glare of the headlights. 

She opened the passenger side door, and slid into the leather seat, settling into the comforting warmth of the Bentley’s interior. Skulduggery never felt the harsh effects of temperature, but he always took into account the weather for her sake, and conditioned the car accordingly. 

She shivered when she closed the door, and risked a glance at Skulduggery, only to find him staring at her with a tilted skull, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He spoke, in that deep, velvety voice that she had once loved listening to. 

She shot him an expectant look, before he grunted and reached over body, pulling the seat belt strap across her mid-section.

“Safety always comes first in this car…” He mused, as he clicked the belt into place, and she cracked a grin. 

“I trust that you’re a good enough driver, not to get me killed…you’re not doubting your skills are you, Skulduggery?” She teased.

“Never…” He countered, in a playful voice, however that voice suddenly turned solemn, “There are some things that I do not wish to risk losing…”

She licked her lips, nervously. There it was again, the awkward silence. She always felt strange whenever Skulduggery said things like that, mainly because he was always in such a mischievous mood so whenever he said something deep or heartfelt, it came as a slight shock, to which she never knew how to react. 

“You know, you’re going to have to forgive me sometime, Valkyrie…” His melodic voice, cut through her reverie, and the memories came rushing back. 

_“Shut up!” Valkyrie screamed. “Shut up! Say one more goddamn word and I’ll kill you, I swear to Jesus! Skulduggery, look at me. Look at me!”_

_Skulduggery raised his head, looked at her with his hollow eye sockets. “I’m sorry,” he said._

_Valkyrie found herself walking backwards. “What are you talking about? What are you saying? What are you talking about? Skulduggery, he’s lying. He’s lying. Tell him he’s lying, for God’s sake. You’re not Lord Vile. You fought Lord Vile.”_

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her teeth bit sharply into the inside of her cheek, in a futile attempt to stop the tears that were stinging the backs of her eyes from flowing. 

This was how pathetic she had become. This was what the great Valkyrie Cain had been reduced to…broken by all the lies, and mistrust. The person she had depended on had let her down. 

And the thing that hurt the most was that even as young as she was, a few months before the Death Bringer had almost destroyed the world – she actually found herself falling for him, and although she would never admit it to anyone, let alone Skulduggery himself...she more often than not, quietly fantasised about them one day being together. 

But once she had realised his true identity, her dream was shattered. 

A loud sob ripped through her throat, and she leant forward into the seat, burying her face in her knees, her shoulder shaking with each breath as hot tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. The Bentley pulled to a stop, and she heard him kill the engine. 

“You don’t understand…and you never will. I looked up to you, Skulduggery! You were…you were my everything,” She cried, and she stiffened when she felt his gloved hand hesitantly rest on her back, his bony thumb rubbing calming circles into her spine. 

“I’m sorry, Valkyrie…I never meant for you to get hurt, but you have to understand that life goes on…no one’s going to stop for us. Wipe your tears, you and I have work to do…” He tried, but her anger flared at his continuous dismissal of her hurt. 

She should’ve known. That’s what they always warned her about, that he was cold, and insensitive – a side she had seen all too much of lately. She had been bombarded with rumors of the Skeleton Detective’s rage over the years, but she had never once been subjected to it. 

But like everything else in her life already had, that was all about to change.

She straightened up and shot him a heated glare, “You and I? This stopped being a partnership months ago, Skulduggery, and you know it. It stopped when you kept the truth from me…but you were just too stupid to notice that I was in pain…I needed you, and you weren’t there, because all you cared about was stopping the bad guys. You never once asked me how I felt…you’d apologise and then just change the subject, talk to me about Sanctuary business…well, you know what, Skulduggery? I’m done…I thought as your partner, maybe you’d care about me a little just a little bit more than that, but I guess not,” She snapped, getting out of the Bentley, slamming the door without even giving him the chance to speak. 

She began stalking down the road, away from the Bentley and it had begun to rain. Cold, heavy droplets stung her freezing flesh and she groaned in frustration, tugging her precious black jacket tighter around her shivering form. If only she had better control over water magic like Skulduggery did, then maybe she could fight some of the chill away.

“Valkyrie…” Skulduggery yelled from behind her, and she quickened her pace, storming through the puddles on the road, eager to find her way back home. She knew she would call Skulduggery tomorrow, but as of this moment, she didn’t want to spend another second in his presence for the rest of the night. 

She hadn’t even heard him walking up behind her over the noise of the storm, but as soon as she felt fingers graze her elbow, she acted on instinct. She whirled and her hand flew up to his skull, smacking him hard against the jawbone. His head whipped to one side, and he stayed there for a moment, in silence. And she suddenly felt very afraid…it was as if she could feel the anger emanating from his very being. 

His skull slowly moved back to face her, and she yelped in surprise, when his hand shot forward and seized her wrist, jerking her entire body into him, so their faces were a mere breath away from each other’s. 

“Don’t ever hit me again, otherwise I’ll be forced to teach you a lesson, now get in the fucking car…” He seethed, shoving her entire body back toward the Bentley, and she stumbled slightly, her eyes wide with shock. She had never had him curse or scold her for her behaviour before, and she was rather taken aback by the whole experience. 

She couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by, ‘teaching her a lesson’. 

She rubbed her sore wrist from where his bony fingers had wrapped painfully around the joint, as she sulkily got back into the car. Skulduggery got in beside her moments later, and slammed the door closed with an aggravated huff, making her jump at the unexpected loud noise.

“I’m sick and tired of playing games with you, Valkyrie…” He growled, as turned the key in the ignition and engine purred to life, “If you can’t learn to respect your elders, I might have to give you a little lesson in submitting to authority…”

She peered over at him, uncertainty evident in her voice as she spoke, still shaken from how he had just treated her, “I thought you always told me to think for myself?” She spoke, quietly, and he chuckled darkly at her words, shaking his head in amusement. 

“I told you that because I wanted you to flourish as young teenager, develop your own ideas and perspectives on the world, but that time is over now, Valkyrie, you’re almost a woman and you need to be treated as such. You need to be…tamed,” He answered, and she felt her heart flutter at his choice of words. 

“T-Tamed?” She stuttered, meekly. 

“Mm, tamed. The sooner, the better…I think I’ll start with you tomorrow night,” He mused, more to himself than to her and her throat tightened at his ambiguous tone, “But tonight, more important matters are at hand…Tanith has been captured, and she’s at the Sanctuary…”

* * *

“Get the fuck off me!” Tanith wailed, and she could feel the panic of the remnant, rising inside of her, it didn’t like it when it’s vessel was being restrained. She was currently strapped into a bed in Nye’s surgery room, fighting against her restraints with all her strength. 

She didn’t like the way the creature was looking at her, like another specimen it could cut up into tiny little pieces and experiment with, to it’s heart’s content…so she cried out for the one man, she knew would come and save her – Ghastly. 

“Ghastly!” She screamed, feigning a tone of desperation and longing. She already knew that he would be on his way here to see her, but her crying out for him, would hopefully speed him up. 

As planned, Ghastly came crashing through the doors with stunned Ravel by his side, “Get away from her, you are not to touch her until I permit it...” He ordered, in that authoritative voice of his that always managed to send a bolt of arousal straight through her groin. 

“Ghastly!” She pleaded again, her voice cracking in a way that she knew made him weak at the knees. It was like he could sense her desire for him. She writhed on the table, making sure to swivel her hips teasingly at him, but not enough to make it known to him that she was intentionally trying to seduce him. 

“I want everyone out, I need to speak to Miss Low alone…” He adjured, and every medical attendant in the room quickly followed, as Nye left through the doors, accompanied by Ravel. It seemed that Ghastly had acquired an admirable amount of power in the Sanctuary, in her absence. 

She bit her lip, and eyed him innocently, as he rounded the bed, his gaze dragging over every toned plane of her body. His dark eyes snapped up to meet hers, as the coarse pads of his fingers grazed the inside of her thigh. 

“I’ve missed you…” He murmured, and she let out an embarrassing whimper at the sound of his husky voice tickling her senses. She may have had a remnant inside of her, and had the intent of the blackened spirit, but everything else that belonged to Tanith was still there – her wants, her needs, her desires, her feelings…and as it turns out, she had very strong feelings for this scarred male. 

“G-Ghastly…” The remnant allowed his name to slip through her lips, in a breathy gasp, “It’s me, Tanith…” It lied, and his face slackened for a moment, before he regained his composure. 

“No, you’re lying…I won’t be fooled by a remnant,” He whispered, backing away slowly, with a slight shake of his head. Just to humour him, the remnant let go of the controls for a moment, and the real Tanith leapt for the chance to speak to him. 

“Ghastly, please help me…you have untie me,” Tanith pleaded, and the remnant silenced internalised her scream, as it purged her from her mind. Ghastly must have heard the truth in her voice, because he stepped forward and his hands flew to the restraints on her hands. 

Once both of her wrists were free, she didn’t hesitate to pull his face into hers, crushing her lips against his to banish the doubt from his mind that this was anyone but the Tanith he loved and cared for so dearly. She felt him relax, and she deepened the kiss by sliding her tongue into his mouth to play with his. 

“You’re all mine…” She whispered, hotly, into his mouth and before he had time to react, a sharp crack sounded as Billy-Ray Sanguine appeared behind him and smacked the end of the gun against the back of Ghastly’s head. She broke the kiss, and gave him a sinister smile, as he stared back her, his eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, before his body tipped forward and collapsed onto her. 

“Argh, he’s bloody heavy…” She winced, and Sanguine rushed forward to pull Ghastly’s muscled body off her lithe frame. Sanguine stood there for a moment, holding Ghastly up by his broad shoulders, before Tanith shot him a pointed glare.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let me out of this damn thing…”

* * *

“What the hell is going on?” snarled Skulduggery, as he strode through into the room, to find Sanctuary workers already analyzing a crack in the wall, “How could you have been so stupid to have left her alone?”

The question was aimed at anyone, really. But Erskine Ravel was the only one who had the courage to speak up, and answer it.

“It was by the orders of Ghastly, Skulduggery…he wanted a moment alone with her, you know how he is when it comes to Tanith,” Ravel spoke, sternly. 

“Irrational, is how he is when it comes to Tanith…you shouldn’t have listened to him,” Skulduggery snapped, and Valkyrie flinched at his tone. He’d been furious since the incident in the rain, earlier. The entire way here, Valkyrie had watched closely as his gloved knuckles would pulse every time his hand systematically clenched and unclenched around the steering wheel as he drove in silent anger. 

Ravel stayed quiet, as he stood beside Valkyrie in the doorway and watched on as both Sanctuary workers and Skulduggery looked around for clues as to where they might have taken Ghastly. Valkyrie stared long and hard at Skulduggery, the fleeting moment they’re shared earlier in the rain flashing through her mind – their proximity had been intoxicating. His teeth coming almost close enough for her brush her lips against them, something she’d wanted to do since she was fourteen years old, and her hormones had just started going crazy. 

“You’re awfully quiet tonight, Valkyrie. Is there something bothering you?” Ravel asked from beside her, and she glanced at him, before returning her gaze to the Skeleton Detective. 

“Not at all…I guess I’m just tired,” She shrugged, but Erskine didn’t believe her even for a moment. 

“I’d appreciate it, if you didn’t lie to me, Valkyrie…there’s no need to, I’m your friend too, you know? Believe it or not, but there are other people out there who care about you beside Skulduggery…” He spoke, and she took a shaky breath. 

“Things have been different lately, Erskine and I can’t even begin to explain to you why, because it’s a secret and I can’t talk to anyone about it…not even Skulduggery, and it’s his secret…I just feel like, ever since I found out this thing about him, it’s like he’s purposely shutting me out…” She lamented. 

“Skulduggery cares about you, Val…he just, has some odd ways of showing it. I’m sure things will get better in time between you two, whatever it is that you’re dealing with. I mean, I’m not one to pry…but if you ever do need to talk, you know where to find me,” He spoke, giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before moving off into the crime scene to speak with one of the Sanctuary workers. 

She tore her gaze away from Ravel, to find Skulduggery staring at her from across the room, with his skull slightly tilted in piqued interest. He had witnessed the whole exchange between her and Ravel…and he was not happy.

* * *

“Oh look, my little slave is awake…” Tanith cried, in her usual bubbly voice that sounded deeply unsettling coming from the black-lipped girl in sheer lacy lingerie, standing on the other side of the room, observing him while he slept. Ghastly was tied to a bed in a dark, candle-lit room, each wrist bound to the steel frame above his head, and a red lacy thong stuffed in his mouth to silence him. 

Tanith sauntered over to the bed and dropped down on the edge of the plush mattress. It wasn’t until Tanith’s hand snaked out and gripped his length, that he looked down to find that he was stark naked. He cringed inwardly, as he felt her palm his manhood. He had always wanted Tanith to touch him there, but not here, and not while she was like this. 

When the time was right, Ghastly had made plans to make slow, sweet love to Tanith on their date. He would begin the evening by cooking her steak, just like she’d asked, and he’d end the night, by pleasuring her in every way possible. But then his plans had been ruined, when she’d been taken over by the remnant, and escaped with that idiotic Texan. 

He could feel his cock begin to throb under her firm strokes, and she giggled at his increasingly flustered state. 

“I was always curious as to you would react to my touch,” She mused, pumping him faster and faster, until he felt the pressure build in his member, “And I feel that I should reward Tanith for allowing me to hijack her body…you know, give something back, and the only thing she seems to have her mind on…is you…”

Ghastly gritted his teeth to fight the overwhelming waves of pleasure crashing through his form, and he found himself unconsciously bucking his hips to meet her hands, rolling into her movements to feel the friction. 

“We’re going to spend an entire lust-filled night together, Ghastly…” Her singsong voice barely penetrated his hazy thoughts, as his eyelids fluttered closed in pure ecstasy, before he felt his dick twitch and release a hot load all over his toned torso. 

“Mm, just like that baby,” She cooed, and he groaned in response, “I’m going to make sure that you never want to leave this room again…”


End file.
